Born in Brooklyn, New York, Fran’s personal artistic journey began at a very early age. Given the opportunity in elementary school to take up painting, she quickly showed a special aptitude for the medium. Her teacher recognized this and encouraged her mother to nurture her talent. Her mother wasted no time purchasing oil paints, canvas and easel for her to use. With this, she later went on to win several local and national art competitions for her work.
In high school and college, Fran continued to study art and art history. Fran quickly realized that oil painting was her passion, and so she focuses on that medium alone, specializing in classical and contemporary still life images. She attended Brooklyn College, which was known for it’s outstanding art department. There she studied under accomplished traditional artists, including Paul Gianfagna, who taught anatomy, and classical still-life painting.
Fran strongly believes that an artist should be constantly growing and evolving. She therefore chose to continue her training at the Art Student’s League in New York, where she studied with contemporary masters, Peter Homitsky, Leonid Gervits and Dan Thompson. She also exhibited her work at the school, winning the prestigious “Red Dot” award. She went on to exhibit and sell her work locally in the New York area.
In 2018, Fran moved to the Tampa Bay area. Again, she sought out new art venues and chose to attend the Dunedin Fine Arts Center. There she studies with master artists, Markissia Touliatos and Shawn Dell Joyce. She is also a recipient of the Emerging Artist Grant for 2024.
Fran’s professional affiliations include OPA (Oil Painters of America), TESA (The Exhibiting Society of Artists) and CAG (Creative Artists Guild of Dunedin).
